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Mint:
London
Ruler:
George V (1910-36)
State:
United Kingdom
Ruler:
Gv
(With the title of)
The 1914 Star was instituted in 1917 to commemorate service on the Western Front during the Great War of 1914-1918 between the declaration of war on 5 August and the end of the First Battle of Ypres on 22 November 1914. By this time the hideous casualties at Ypres and the Somme had considerably reduced the number of those who qualified for its award.
Despite its broader eligibility, the Star rapidly became identified with the first battle fought by the British during the War, that of Mons. In this battle it fell to the British Expeditionary Force to hold a position at Mons for 24 hours to cover the withdrawal of the French Fifth Army, beaten in the Battle of Charleroi. The German forces, superior in numbers, were confident of rolling over the four under-prepared divisions of the BEF, but in the event, though they were forced to withdraw, the British put up a defence that became a legend, in which many acts of heroism were performed.
This medal was awarded to Private P. McGeehan, of the 1st Battalion, Liverpool Regiment; the bar, awarded in 1919, testifies that he served under fire between the dates it carries. As the Liverpool, or King's Regiment, were heavily involved not just in the Battle of Mons, but both in several subsidiary actions around it and also in the subsequent Battle of the Marne that arrested the Allied retreat and threw the Germans back onto the defensive, Private McGeehan's opportunities so to qualify must have been plentiful. Lester Watson acquired his medal at some point before 1928.
History note: Gift of L. Hoyt Watson; ex Lester Watson Collection, acquired before 1928
Given by Lester Watson through Cambridge in America, 2009
Diameter: 44.8 mm
Weight: 27.77 g
Method of acquisition: Given (2009) by Watson, Lester
1917 - 1919
Inscription present: Crossed swords with inscriptions on scrolls, under wreath wth royal monogram at bottom and over four-pointed star of which topmost point replaced by crown.
Inscription present: Plain star with recipient's name stamped
Accession number: CM.1346-2009
Primary reference Number: 141440
Watson Catalogue: 252
Ordering: M-0229
Previous object number: LW.0229
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Coins and Medals
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "1914 Star" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/141440 Accessed: 2024-12-22 09:07:31
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/141440
|title=1914 Star
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-12-22 09:07:31|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:
https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-141440
To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:
<div class="text-center">
<figure class="figure">
<img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm59/CM_1346_2009_281_29.jpg"
alt="1914 Star"
class="img-fluid" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">1914 Star</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
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